Wrapped Around Your Finger

Chapter Two

It was dark backstage where they were hiding, so Paul kissed Art softly on the lips. He needed to calm down and needed to reassure Art more. So he recalled the past to brighten the current mood. He held Art's hands, rubbing his thumb over Art's ring.

"Remember the day we got these rings? We both liked the same style immediately. And lucky for us they had sizes that fit both of us. It was perfect. God, Artie, that was what, three years ago already?"

Art reminisced as well. "And remember later that night? We lit candles all over the apartment, said our vows and exchanged the rings? Your fingers were so swollen, I could hardly get yours on you. And my hands were shaking and sweaty as fuck, you had to hold my hand still to get the ring on me. Ah, then we got drunk, got high, and made love. We almost missed the recording session the next morning."

Paul nodded and kissed Artie again. "And then we decided I'd be the one to publicly wear my ring. It would get its best exposure if I wore it strumming the guitar."

"And because I'm too clumsy and fidgety to wear mine." Art giggled.

"And you know, people probably won't even notice that you're wearing a ring tonight anyways." Paul was now cheerful. "You always have your hands in your pockets or behind your back or fidgeting, so how would they know if you normally wear a ring or not? So that bodes well for us. Thank you for your flighty hands."

<p>"Paul?..." Art smiled, lifted Paul's right hand and kissed it. "You know why my hands are always in my pockets?"

"You don't know where to put your hands when you sing onstage, you're nervous. It's also just a cute habit you have. You do it all the time off stage too. You're fidgety."

"No, Paul," Art gave Paul's hand a squeeze. "It's because every time we're together in public, I'm touching my ring in my pocket."

<p>Paul looked into Art's eyes. "Wait, you carry it in your pocket all the time?"

"Yep", Art smiled beaming with love. "Always. It's always there, on the chain we got to string it on. Every performance, recording session, photo shoot, even when we're just out and about. The ring always goes with me. That's why my hands are in my pockets so much. I can touch the ring whenever I want. I mean I would look weird with only one hand in my pocket, so I use both."

""Weirder" you mean?" Paul couldn't resist.

"Well, true." Art smiled. "But hey, if I can't hold your hand or wear my ring in public, this is the next best thing. It's comforting. So I guess that's my secret. And no one out there would know just by looking at me."

"You are a smart one, Arthur Garfunkel." Paul smiled. "Masters Degree and everything. Fooling the public in plain sight too."

Art smiled. "I don't mind looking like a schmuck with my hands in my pockets constantly if it means that it's the closest I can come to touching you."

"I love you, Artie", Paul leaned in for a quick kiss before they walked back to grab a quick drink and smoke before going back on stage.

"I love you too, Paul."

They kissed again and smiled at each other before joining the crew. Well trained as ever in their "act", they wandered around, enjoying a drink and a joint, staying close but not too close. Friendly but not too friendly. The crew noticed and was just glad they were "back on speaking terms."

Before long they returned to the stage to close the second half of the show. Art made it a point not to pocket his hands, instead he held the microphone more, especially in his right hand. Paul smiled more than usual the rest of the night too.

Epilogue:

In the end no one ever brought up the rings. Art was never again seen in public with it on his finger. But anytime Paul was flashing his ring, there was Art next to him, hands stuffed in his pockets, fiddling with the matching silver band hidden inside. It didn't matter though where the rings actually were; Paul and Artie had each wrapped around each other's finger forever.